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Rick Scott: “disappointing” Obama admin rejected emergency declaration following Orlando shooting

in Statewide/Top Headlines by

Gov. Rick Scott said Monday he finds it thoroughly “disappointing” Obama administration authorities have denied his request for a federal emergency declaration in the wake of last weekend’s deadly shooting at an Orlando night club.

Scott cited $5 million he requested which the state of Florida will miss out on, which Scott said would have funded “emergency response efforts, law enforcement response, emergency medical care, counseling services and other social services to assist victims.”

Federal officials have, however, approved $253,000 to help pay for overtime for hundreds first responders who worked long hours after the attack.

“It is incredibly disappointing that the Obama Administration denied our request for an Emergency Declaration.  Last week, a terrorist killed 49 people, and wounded many others, which was the deadliest shooting in U.S. history,” said Scott, long a states’ rights advocate and staunch opponent of President Barack Obama.

“It is unthinkable that President Obama does not define this as an emergency. We are committing every state resource possible to help the victims and the community heal and we expect the same from the federal government,” continued Scott.

Scott pointed out several other times when federal officials saw fit to declare such a state of emergency, including the so-called Boston Bombing, a 2013 fertilizer explosion in West, Texas, and the president’s own inauguration in 2009.

Ryan Ray writes about campaigns and public policy in Tampa Bay and across the state. A contributor to FloridaPolitics.com and before that, The Florida Squeeze, he covers the Legislature as a member of the Florida Capitol Press Corps and has worked as a staffer on several campaigns. He can be reached at [email protected]

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